Sleeping FAQ: 9-12 Months – Daytime Sleep

My 10 month old wakes early and doesn’t always settle at lunchtime

My son is now just over 10 months old and I am considering dropping his morning nap as he takes a while to settle, doesn’t always sleep for 2 hours in the afternoon and is often awake and playing at 6am. Would this be the thing to do?

Also how do I manage his routine when British winter time kicks in at the end of October? That means we gain an hour in the morning. Do I ignore this change and continue things with the new times or do I make some sort of adjustment?

Your son may well be on the way to dropping his morning nap. If he is waking and playing at 6am you may well have to move things a little as he may get very tired before his lunch. Once his body has adapted to the change and he is waking at 7am or later he should be able to manage well. If he is tired by 11am move his lunch to 11.20/30am and aim to have him down in his cot by 12 midday. Be aware that if he is very tired he won’t eat a good lunch and so not sleep so well afterwards due to hunger. It can take a few days of juggling to find the right time to give lunch, especially if it takes a few days for the early morning waking to begin to disappear.

If he sleeps for 2 hours at this earlier lunchtime nap, he should then be able to make it through to bathtime and perhaps an earlier bedtime of 6.30/6.45pm. Once he has adapted to the change you can begin to push his lunchtime nap forward a bit.

If you find he is not quite ready to go without a sleep in the morning, and many babies do need a very short one until after their first birthday, then make sure it is no longer than 15-20mins. It is best if he goes down for this around 9.30pm and his lunchtime nap then be pushed on towards 1pm which should mean he is tired enough to sleep then for at least 1.5 hrs.

Getting the right amount of sleep at the right times can be tricky in the second half of the first year. A babies need for sleep diminishes but at the same time he begins to much more mobile with crawling, pulling himself up and cruising which tire him out.

The hour which is gained in the autumn should not be too difficult to deal with. The best way is to go straight into the new time when you wake in the morning, which is always a Sunday, and don’t think what time it was the day before. Some mothers try to get ready for it by having slightly later timings the day before, moving everything on by about 15 mins to allow for the extra hour gained in the night. Putting your son to bed 15-20 mins later may help him sleep onto the “new” 7am or near to it. In the day you keep to the usual timings of feeds and naps and he should make the adjustment with little problem. Babies run on their own body clocks rather than relying on a watch as we do as adults, therefore they make adjustments such as this and when flying much more easily than we do.